Yin and yang
Michael Sparks
12/13/2011
World Religions
Professor Norris
Yin, Yang, and Life
The yin and yang is one of the most recognized symbols in the entire world. In some references the symbol is considered to be a representation for Tai-Chi. The yin and yang symbol represents the ancient Chinese understanding of how things work and of Taoism. The outer circle represents everything, while the black and white shapes within the circle represent the interaction of two energies, called yin and yang, which cause everything to happen. They are not completely black or white, just as things in life are not completely black or white, and they cannot exist without each other.
Huston Smith views the symbol as it “sums up all of life’s basic oppositions: good/evil, active/passive, positive/negative, light/dark, summer/winter, male/female. But through the halves are in tension, they are not flatly opposed; they complement each other.” (Smith 214). The black side represents feelings of love, caring, cold weak, passive, calm and sadness. While on the other side, white, the feelings are represented with action, upward, competitive, hot, expanding, strong and bright. The shape of the yin and yang gave me a sense of the continual motion of the two energies which everything to happen like hot air going cold and when things expand to when things contract. Just like Newton’s third law of motion, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. So if one side is pushing too much with the feelings and emotion, the opposite side pushes and keeps it in a continual motion so that no one side takes over completely and keeps in perfect harmony.
The yin and yang symbol has also influenced the calendar and the year. If you assume that the top of the yin yang symbol is the summer solstice which is June 21st/ 22nd and the bottom is the winter solstice which is December 21st/22nd, you can see the white side rising as spring comes and the dark side falling as autumn comes.
The idea of my
12/13/2011
World Religions
Professor Norris
Yin, Yang, and Life
The yin and yang is one of the most recognized symbols in the entire world. In some references the symbol is considered to be a representation for Tai-Chi. The yin and yang symbol represents the ancient Chinese understanding of how things work and of Taoism. The outer circle represents everything, while the black and white shapes within the circle represent the interaction of two energies, called yin and yang, which cause everything to happen. They are not completely black or white, just as things in life are not completely black or white, and they cannot exist without each other.
Huston Smith views the symbol as it “sums up all of life’s basic oppositions: good/evil, active/passive, positive/negative, light/dark, summer/winter, male/female. But through the halves are in tension, they are not flatly opposed; they complement each other.” (Smith 214). The black side represents feelings of love, caring, cold weak, passive, calm and sadness. While on the other side, white, the feelings are represented with action, upward, competitive, hot, expanding, strong and bright. The shape of the yin and yang gave me a sense of the continual motion of the two energies which everything to happen like hot air going cold and when things expand to when things contract. Just like Newton’s third law of motion, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. So if one side is pushing too much with the feelings and emotion, the opposite side pushes and keeps it in a continual motion so that no one side takes over completely and keeps in perfect harmony.
The yin and yang symbol has also influenced the calendar and the year. If you assume that the top of the yin yang symbol is the summer solstice which is June 21st/ 22nd and the bottom is the winter solstice which is December 21st/22nd, you can see the white side rising as spring comes and the dark side falling as autumn comes.
The idea of my